Two arrested in case of duct-taped man dumped in Grand Rapids alley

GRAND RAPIDS -- Police say Mount Pleasant robbers bound a man with duct tape and kept him for hours in a car trunk before dumping him in an alley near Turner Avenue NW and Myrtle Street in Grand Rapids.

The victim, Farhang Silevany, 32, of Lansing, was found in the alley around noon Friday after witnesses saw a man remove him from the trunk of a Chevrolet Impala. His ankles, wrists, shoulders and mouth had been covered with duct tape.

Police said this afternoon that Silevany had attended a party in Mount Pleasant before he was assaulted, and held down with a knife to his throat by one of the suspects, while the other wrapped him with duct tape. The robbers took his cell phone, wallet and identification, and put him in the trunk of their vehicle.

Within two days of the attack, police arrested Juan Montoya-Pego, 27, of Mount Pleasant, at an Alma hotel where he was staying with his girlfriend. He was charged with armed robbery, unlawful imprisonment and assault with a dangerous weapon. Nickol Jackson, 26, also of Mount Pleasant, was charged with unlawful imprisonment and assault with a deadly weapon, police said.

Police used a search warrant to enter a house in Mount Pleasant where they recovered the victim's property and other evidence of the crime, state police said.

Police said the victim is recovering. Multiple police agencies took part in the investigation.